Footsteps in the Snow

One weekend, many years ago, as I was preparing for my Master’s Recital (I will leave the many up to your imagination but please, dear reader, be kind), my now husband decided that I was about to crack and needed a day away from the piano. I did not agree and he practically had to drag me to the car where he announced we were going to Madera Canyon to the snow, NOW!

(Note: We were both studying at the UA in Tucson, Arizona where snow is truly the stuff of legend. My younger daughter, now in her 20s, can still tell you the exact day she made a snow duck on the driveway)

So, I grumbled and pouted for the entire 60 minute drive—until we pulled onto the canyon loop and started up the mountain. Then I was gob-smacked (see photo). You see, it had snowed (real snow not just a dusting) and we were the first and only humans at the scene, and I was preparing Debussy’s Footsteps in the Snow for my recital, and I was from the California Bay Area where snow is also the stuff of legend.

That day when my husband was right when he wanted me to take time away from the piano- just not quite in the way that he thought. I discovered what Debussy’s small gem of a Prelude was all about; in the silence, in the crunching of our footsteps, in the pristine beauty and majesty of the scenery.

A funny side note is that on the night of my recital, (on which I had also played Bach, Schubert’s great Bb Sonata, Bartok, and Webern’s Variations) one of the members of my committee came up to me afterward and the only thing he said about the entire event was, “I can’t believe you pedaled through the entire opening of the Footsteps in the Snow.” Once that would have been like a knife to the heart, but I had an inner concept of the sound I wanted and why thanks to my husband, and I was secure in my half and vibrato pedals and the musical mood they created.

Last fall, we made another expedition to the Canyon and I blogged about that visit in this post.

Long Hair & Fans

Seeing Debussy  was one of the best sessions I attended at NCKP this summer. It was, in fact, one of my all time favorite conference sessions. Catherine Kautsky, of Lawrence University, related Debussy’s easier works to the Paris of his time, giving us tools to help our students envision his music and one of the themes she talked about was women as ethereal, nearly untouchable beings.

Remember those posters from the early 20th Century in which women’s flowing locks function as major design elements? Very funny… neither do I. Most of us have come across them in décor, museums, or art history books though. Ms. Kautsky shared an image of a poster she had come across in a museum in Paris. Here is one I found that might give you the idea. 

I had always associated a certain famous impressionistic painting (you know the one) with Girl with the Flaxen Hair but this made me think again.

Ms. Kautsky also introduced us to Loie Fuller, an American dancer who went to Paris and became a fan dancer. I knew of fan dancers but had always equated them with risqué burlesque shows. Loie used colored lights to create glowing effects which inspired Debussy. She even choreographed some of his pieces.

Two days later, when I visited the Chicago Art Institute, I came across the beautiful sculpture of a fan dancer you see above.  You can view videos of Loie Fuller dancing here.

Makes you rethink Voiles (which can mean either sails or veils) doesn’t it???

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